


Feathers and Rain

by zanthe



Series: Dragon!Byleth AU [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Most of them are vague mentions, Post-Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 14:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20472704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zanthe/pseuds/zanthe
Summary: AU In which Byleth can transform into a dragon.Byleth reminisces about past events.





	Feathers and Rain

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to set up for some future fics.  
For your mental reference:  
Baby dragon byleth: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/334398254471184385/617562034225020928/unknown.png  
Adult dragon byleth: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/608830703156592656/609582091793072128/unknown.png , https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/608830703156592656/609570811556266015/unknown.png

_ The mountains are quiet today _, Byleth hummed to himself. Usually, the updrafts could be heard across the monastery, gentle winds pushing banners and chimes, aiding those patrolling above. Today, the winds were quiet, and Byleth could smell the change in the air. Today it would be sunny. Tomorrow would probably bring rain. He liked rain, although it was hard to enjoy it the way he liked to with so many prying eyes, less than before and yet all too many. 

It was a rainy day when he'd first transformed, all those years ago, much to Jeralt's surprise. One minute, a bored child making the best of a rainy day by leaping off chairs, pretending to be a bird landing. The next minute, a small pile of feathers that could hardly be called a 'dragon,' making a not so graceful landing face-first onto stone floor. He hadn't understood what had caused his father to drop that mug so suddenly until he looked down at his hands and found them to be taloned feet. 

A moment later and Jeralt was holding him, fussing over him, examining every inch of his fluffy body while spewing curses. "What the _ hell _?" He'd said, prompting nothing but an equally confused gargle out of his son. 

From there, it took a few days to turn back into a human. Well, fully back. The second day, he'd manage to return to his boyish form, save for a tail and a splatter of scales on his face. The third day he finally looked normal again. It took several months to be able to change at will, but Jeralt always stressed to never transform where he could be seen if he could help it, and so he never truly got adjusted to it. Once he learned to keep the dragon form under control, at around the age of 15, he never used it again.

At least, not until he came to the monastery. Jeralt swore those kids were an equal part good and bad influence on Byleth. He wouldn't be wrong, of course, the Golden Deer house never went a day without some sort of mischief, but the good outweighed the bad. The good being how they seemed to bring out the best in Byleth, he'd never seen his son happier.

The bad being, well... 

On a mission later in the year, a group of bandits had made one fatal mistake: injuring Byleth's students. Upon being consumed by the Lance of Ruin, Miklan's beastial form had lashed out at them, taking the group by surprise. Lorenz and Leonie had rushed in behind Byleth, but the three were thrown back by the whip of a tail that hit with enough force to break bones. The beast loomed over them, snarling, claws scraping the stone, the others were too far behind to get there in time, and despite the hands of time being at his command, Byleth snarled back. 

His students watched as their professor became something _ else _, standing equal to the beast that threatened them, a dragon covered head to tail with jet black feathers that glittered in the light of the fire. There was a furious screech as the two beasts fought, rending stone to dust and igniting the air. If the demon got too close, it would be hurled back, away from the group, no matter the clawing and biting Byleth received for it. 

He was unsteady on his feet, tail lashing to keep balance and wings unfurled in the same effort, he'd never fought as a dragon before. While the demon was recovering from a blow to the face, he looked back at the students. Marianne was helping Lorenz and Leonie, while the rest caught up, gazing wearily at the dragon ahead of them before shouting. Seconds later, the demon barreled into him, knocking him off his feet with a terrifying growl, and Byleth struggled until a blast of magic threw the beast off and he gained the advantage, ending it in a snap.

The creature returned to the sorry form of Miklan, but the same could not be said for Byleth. The dragon collapsed on the floor, panting hard and bleeding all over, and Marianne was at his side in an instant, the others following. Gilbert gave him a confused look, and the students bombarded him with questions, but all he could do was growl and close his eyes. 

"Are you alright?" Someone had asked, his memory was hazy at this point, but he knew someone had asked if he could transform back, and he couldn't. He would be stuck like this until he regained the strength to return to his human form, and Jeralt would be scolding him for the month to come. 

He missed Jeralt. A pang of sadness returned Byleth to the present. The sun was beginning to set, but he didn't feel like leaving the balcony just yet. The wind picked up suddenly, and he spotted clouds in the distance. 

It had been cloudy when he'd surprised his students, he recalled warmly. After the incident at the tower, they'd been very curious about his new form. Hidden behind the monastery, the Golden Deer had sworn their secrecy to Jeralt, while Rhea and Seteth did their best to figure out how to best hide him. Claude was the first to sneak in to see him. 

"You know, I knew you had secrets but I wasn't expecting you to turn into a _ dragon _." He'd grinned, earning a low huff from his feathered professor. He'd sat down and continued talking, the rest of the Deer shuffling in quietly until they all laid beside him in the grass, gently stroking his plumage, asking more questions, or rewrapping the cuts that magic couldn't heal. Raphael had brought him some food, too, which had been gratefully accepted.

They stayed there until nightfall, curled up in the grass until Seteth finally found them, herding them to their rooms as Byleth purred. Even now, he purred at the memory. They'd do that again on many occasions, sit in the sun huddled next to their professor, chatting away until something came up, or the sun set. It was a good relief during the later months, and Byleth had known no greater comfort in his weeks of mourning than the students curled beside him, tucked under his wings, offering their company. He'd sworn to himself that month, he'd die before he let any of them be killed. 

And then he fell.

And then he woke up.

Five years. It was still hard to believe. He looked down at the monastery in the fading light, parts of it were crumbled, broken. It had been disorienting. After a brief chat with the man he'd encountered, he'd wasted no time in flying back to the academy. Back _ home _. Home was in ruins. Seeing Claude again was the harshest wake-up call, however. That was when it truly sunk it. It hurt to see how genuine his smile was, relieved and surprised and so many other emotions Byleth couldn't even begin to place. All he felt was guilt for not being there for his students. 

They worked through it though, no moment wasted, reunited at last. He'd say he missed them, but it had been mere hours to him, and years to them. He missed what they used to have, war was brutal and he could feel their pain. 

It was halfway through the year now, plans were being made, and despite the urgency of it all, Byleth found himself now desperate for a tranquil moment to share with his former students. His friends, though they insisted on calling him "Professor" even now. Tomorrow was promising, however. It was night now, the wind carried the strong scent of rain, tomorrow he could creep out under the cover of the clouds and let the rain soak into his feathers once more, like he used to before the war. Maybe he could be selfish, bring out a few others with him, excuse it as training to fight demonic beasts in bad weather. 

Splash around, get muddy, he remembered Lorenz's disgusted groan when he'd splashed mud all over him while running from Raphael and Ignatz, the latter being perched on the former's shoulders, wielding a stick. He remembered Marianne's giggle as Claude proceeded to slap even more mud on him, and the group breaking into all out war. Lysithea had grumbled something about it all being childish until she was picked up and placed on Byleth's back, holding on for dear life as he leapt out of the way from Ignatz's pokes. Leonie picked up Hilda in the same fashion, nearly toppling over but charging at the professor anyways. Byleth leapt out of the way, and Raphael crashed into her, and everyone had laughed, bruised and covered in mud and laughing all the same. Byleth wondered if they missed it as much as he did. He hoped they did.

As the sky blackened, Byleth began to make his way back downstairs, towards his room. The halls were silent, most people having left by this hour. "Professor!" He heard a quiet shout, and turned his head to see Flayn bounding up to him. "May I walk with you?" She asked, and he nodded. 

"Maybe this is not the best time to be asking, but I have been wondering," she began, "what did you look like as a dragon when you were younger?" 

"Fluffy," He responded, memory fresh in his mind. "Jeralt could hardly call me a dragon back then. Why do you ask?" Flayn avoided his gaze, thinking for a moment.

Then she grinned, "I do believe I was quite the fluffy one, too!" Byleth blinked, and she continued, "I wonder what Rhea might've looked like as a hatchling," a voice deep in his head said 'not pretty', "and father, too, he refuses to tell me." Flayn huffed, "I will see you tomorrow, professor, that's all I wanted to ask!" Before he had a chance to stop her, Flayn was gone. He sighed, smiling. 

What _ had _ Rhea looked like as a hatchling? Would Sothis have told him if she were here? He missed her. The stone in his chest seemed to burn for a moment. _ I miss you too _, it seemed to respond. Exhaustion began to settle in, and Byleth took one last glance at the now star-speckled sky. Tomorrow would bring rain, and hopefully many other things to ease the troubles of war.

**Author's Note:**

> if seteth and flayn DON'T have dragon forms i'm ignorning canon permanently!


End file.
